Prepping a few items for the coming cold front.......?

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Parks 788

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So, being fairly new to living in the country and now being more responsible for just a single home in town/city I have some questions for you more experienced guys that have a similar setup that we have and have been through some real cold temps. Want to make sure I prepare properly for the cold. Here's the deal.

We have a Main House with it's own well head in the yard. We also have a 2019 well-built mobile home with it's own well and well-house over it. Currently, I'm doing what the prior owners have setup to keep things from freezing with regards to water lines and pipes. Mobile home well house has a small 1300 watt heater in it that blows warm air and it is fine so long as the heat stays on. Not too worried about it. Inside the mobile we keep the heat (this time of year) at about 65*-68* and when the temps dip i open all the cabinet doors to let the warmer air circulate around the pipes. Should I let the faucets drip in the sinks and showers during the coldest times? If so, do you only crack the cold water or both cold/hot water faucets? The mobil has all good wood panelized skirting around the bottom with one access door. At the access door it looks like it is also where the water line comes up out of the ground from the well house. Water lines have what looks like a cord and foam insulation wrapped around it for as long as we can see it travel under mobile home to the kitchens and bathrooms. The prior owners put a chicken coop type of heat lamp right at the door area focused on the water line coming out of the ground. I feel like I need more to keep anything under the mobile from freezing, etc. Would it help to turn up the temp inside the mobile to 73*-75* and this could help filter heat down to the underneith or at least the pipes in the kitchen and baths? What else would you recommend doing that wouldn't increase the potential of catching something on fire.

Also, our main house water well head is in the middle of our yard between the house and the shop. All it has is a heavy 18" tall steel cylinder around it to protect it from mowers and other things that could hit it. I checked several months ago and the electrical and water lines for the well are about 18" below the surface of the dirt. Do you feel this is deep enough to reliably keep the water line from freezing? I was thinking of taking one of my big plastic storage totes and turning it upside down over the steel cylinder and sticking another heat lamp under it to keep warm air around it and maybe filter warm air a couple feet down the well pipe. Is this worth it to do or waste of time?

I think I'm good with the rest of the stuff but have to refill the feeders so the deer and critters have something to help them through a bit better. Thanks in advance.
 

Mr.Glock

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The Well Heads are nothing to be concerned, the heat from the well depth will prevent any freezes. Oklahoma ground water temps average out about 60 degrees. Just make sure the Well Caps are good and secured.

Don’t know how big the well house is you mention, is there other stuff in there you worry about? If not, replace the Heater with a Electrical Pipe Heat Tapes, they come on when needed and eliminate the Big Fire Hazard of the Heater. Be sure the heat tape goes around the small nipple your pressure switch sets on, the number one spot that freezes first.

Where the water line comes up from the ground into the mobile home, again put a Heat Tape on it, most have a Elect Plug close by to plug Heat tape in. And Damn sure get rid of the Heater under the home.

So now if you lose electricity. And it gets well below freezing for days, if the well house is big enough you can save it from freezing all up and busting with a small metal BBQ Grill, if concrete set it down on it, wood floor put metal under it. Set it safely away from anything and use BBQ Briquettes. Get them going outside, after the flame dies down you can set the BBQ grill inside and add Briquettes as needed. A Small Buddy Heater Propane with just the Pilot Light can help if Well House is insulated well. You should know how to let all the water drain back out of the homes if need be, to help save your plumbing. There should be a hose spicket in the well house to attach a small section of hose to drain.


Back to the Well Head, the Metal Pipe is called a Surface Pipe, it is there to hang your Pitless Adapter on to allow the water to route out below the ground. If you ever have that Well Cap off make sure you never drop anything down the well. And if you want to really be prepped, you need a length of 1” pipe with pipe threaded on one end to lift the Pitless Adapter out and to be able to pull the well pump and pipe out so you can use a Well Bucket to get access to the Water. Need to know how deep and have a rope long enough to utilize the Well Bucket.

4336FC48-57B2-4975-AC9C-AC0FD684ECA9.jpeg

There is sterilization procedures you need to perform on your wells ever so often too. I can guide you through that too.
 
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kingfish

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I only use my well for watering the garden in the summer. I use a space heater in the pump house for those first few below freezing nights in late fall. Once I see a sustained cold spell coming in, I disconnect the pump from the down line and make sure everything is drained out of the pump and reservoir then just hook it all back up in the spring. I used to keep it hooked up all winter with a space heater in case the rural water district broke a line and I could hook it to the house line. But the last few years the water out of the well has smelled so bad I wouldn't want to use it in the house anyway.
 

retrieverman

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My OK house is a 2011 double wide set on a solid concrete ”footing” with a dozen vents in the ”footing/wall” which are closed from October through May. When I leave in the winter, I turn off the water into the house and the hot water heater, and I drain the pipes. I set my heat on 50* and leave all my closets and the pantry open.
So far, I’ve never had a problem, and after it survived -28* a couple years ago, I’m pretty confident it’s a good set up.
 

Mr.Glock

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My OK house is a 2011 double wide set on a solid concrete ”footing” with a dozen vents in the ”footing/wall” which are closed from October through May. When I leave in the winter, I turn off the water into the house and the hot water heater, and I drain the pipes. I set my heat on 50* and leave all my closets and the pantry open.
So far, I’ve never had a problem, and after it survived -28* a couple years ago, I’m pretty confident it’s a good set up.

This place we keep to come back to as well is an older Mobile Home, it has seen -14 and not a problem either. I never drain anything, the Heat Tapes are all thermostatic controlled, I do close the vents and put a cut out 1”piece of foam over the vent covers.
 

hunter966

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On all my wells I pull the well head up about 6’ and take a small drill bit and pit a weep hole in the pipe, plastic pipe is what is in my wells.

When the well shuts off the water drains out of the pipe down to that 6’ mark, and so far I’ve never had one to freeze up. I also keep on hand some heat lamp bulbs, never used any heat tape just cause the bulbs are what my folks used.

Ya probably already know this, but in your house (s) open up the cabinets and let your water run a small stream on the cold water side.

If ya get in a bind with really frigid temps, look for a weed burner and a portable propane tank, handy to have in case something freezes up.
 

Parks 788

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The Well Heads are nothing to be concerned, the heat from the well depth will prevent any freezes. Oklahoma ground water temps average out about 60 degrees. Just make sure the Well Caps are good and secured.

Don’t know how big the well house is you mention, is there other stuff in there you worry about? If not, replace the Heater with a Electrical Pipe Heat Tapes, they come on when needed and eliminate the Big Fire Hazard of the Heater. Be sure the heat tape goes around the small nipple your pressure switch sets on, the number one spot that freezes first.

Where the water line comes up from the ground into the mobile home, again put a Heat Tape on it, most have a Elect Plug close by to plug Heat tape in. And Damn sure get rid of the Heater under the home.

So now if you lose electricity. And it gets well below freezing for days, if the well house is big enough you can save it from freezing all up and busting with a small metal BBQ Grill, if concrete set it down on it, wood floor put metal under it. Set it safely away from anything and use BBQ Briquettes. Get them going outside, after the flame dies down you can set the BBQ grill inside and add Briquettes as needed. A Small Buddy Heater Propane with just the Pilot Light can help if Well House is insulated well. You should know how to let all the water drain back out of the homes if need be, to help save your plumbing. There should be a hose spicket in the well house to attach a small section of hose to drain.


Back to the Well Head, the Metal Pipe is called a Surface Pipe, it is there to hang your Pitless Adapter on to allow the water to route out below the ground. If you ever have that Well Cap off make sure you never drop anything down the well. And if you want to really be prepped, you need a length of 1” pipe with pipe threaded on one end to lift the Pitless Adapter out and to be able to pull the well pump and pipe out so you can use a Well Bucket to get access to the Water. Need to know how deep and have a rope long enough to utilize the Well Bucket.

View attachment 330209

There is sterilization procedures you need to perform on your wells ever so often too. I can guide you through that too.
Thanks for all the replies, fellas.

I believe I do have the heat tape (looks almost more like an extension cord) on the water line under the mobile. It is then covered with the dark grey pipe insulation then wrapped in what looks like a gorilla tape. There is a plug at the door that the orange tape/cord is plugged into. In that area is where I have the brooder heat lamp like the one in pic below. No actual Heater type of appliance under there. Do you think this is still a major fire hazard under the mobile?

The well house is not insulated but can easily be done and it does have one of those little ceramic heaters in it. Probably be best to get rid of that and put a light bulb in the over head socket that's already there. The two wells on our property are, from what I've been told are at about 191' deepIt would be a bit of a haul to pull up a well bucket from that depth considering the amount of water each trip would produce. But i will look into it.

I just learned what a pitless adapter is too. Had no idea how that worked below grade. Thanks Mr Glock.
 

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